Many of the characters seen in Dragon Ball were inspired by pop or traditional culture. It’s well known that Goku was inspired by the Monkey King from Journey to the West, as well as martial arts actor Jackie Chan. Likewise, there are characters throughout the series who were visibly inspired by the Terminator and Aliens films.

But not all of the characters’ points of origin are as easy to see.

In this article I will reveal for the first time the original inspiration for Kame Sennin.

You’ll learn who Kume Sennin is, hear his legend, and see how his transformation into a Japanese pop cultural figure was later emulated in cinema and then once again by Toriyama in Dragon Ball.

You’ll also learn why this legend is so essential to the Dragon Ball story, and how it’s so well integrated that you may never have realized it.

Who is Kume Sennin?

Who is Kume Sennin and how is he related to Kame Sennin?

First let me briefly describe the Japanese term, “Sennin.”

Sennin (仙人, or せんにん) translates as “Mountain Man,” but generally refers to hermits, sages, or immortals who live alone in the wilderness. The term comes directly from Chinese Daoism, where the equivalent Xianren (仙人) originates.

Daoists were known for leaving society behind, with all its illusions and false concepts, and turning to nature in order to unlock supernormal powers, become one with the Dao and attain immortality. They usually lived alone or at most with a few disciples.

Since they lived on mountains, rivers, and islands, “Xianren” was coined to describe these people. The Japanese inherited the Daoist and Buddhist concepts from China, and transliterated the term as “Sennin.”

Kume Sennin (久米仙人) was one of these Daoists who chose to live in the wilderness and cultivate his heart.

From the results of his cultivation he gained the ability to fly on a magic cloud, just like Kame Sennin’s Kinto’un in Dragon Ball, known in the American dub as the Flying Nimbus.

In traditional Chinese culture, people that could fly through the air, such as Buddhist or Daoist deities or powerful cultivators, were illustrated as having clouds underneath their feet. It was believed these people could travel extremely quickly along the skies or mists, or teleport through space and time.

Sun Wukong’s magic cloud in Journey to the West (late 16^th century) is based on these beliefs, and therefore so is Goku’s Kinto’un in Dragon Ball.

Everybody attributes Goku’s magic cloud to Sun Wukong. But it actually goes farther back than that. Much farther back.

As you may remember, Goku was not the first to own the Kinto’un.

Kume Sennin’s Legend

Kume Sennin’s legend is recounted in classical works, such as Book 11:24 of Konjaku Monogotari (今昔物語集) a 12^th century collection of Buddhist Parables, and Essay 8 of Tsuregurekusa (徒然草), a collection of thoughts on life by the Buddhist monk Yoshida Kenko (1283 – 1352).

The legend says that Kume was traveling on his cloud when he suddenly noticed a young woman near a river washing her clothes. He curiously watched the woman and unexpectedly caught a glimpse of her white leg under her raised kimono.

Kume’s mind became filled with desire and he immediately lost the ability to fly. Heavy with lustful thoughts, Kume fell to the earth and crashed in front of the lady!

Smitten, Kume chose to marry the maiden. They made love for many years and started a family. Yet one day Kume realized the error of his ways, repented and set off to achieve the ultimate goal of immortality all over again.

According to the legend, Kume worked hard to redeem himself, regained his powers, and built (or inspired the building of) Kumedera Temple (久米寺)in Kashiara City, Nara Prefecture, Japan. This temple dates back to the time of Prince Shotoku Taishi (574 – 622 AD) and still exists today.  This tells us that the Kume legend goes back at least 1,400 years.

Kume’s legend is well known in Japan, and his story has been considered part of pop culture for centuries, just like Journey to the West, the primary inspiration for Dragon Ball.

The Perverted Sennin’s

Kume Sennin was not the first Sennin to fall prey to temptations of the flesh. The lesson of his story was most likely inherited from China, along with other Buddho-Daoist beliefs.

Certain types of Sennin in China also had the dubious reputation of being lustful because of their infamously detailed sexual practices involving “Jade Girls.” The Sennin’s believed that through ritual sex acts these young virgins could help transform their “vital essence” into immortality elixirs.

Since this culture and concept of ‘perverted Sennin’ already existed, and because Kume’s legend existed for so long and was so popular in society, I surmise that his tale, along with similar stories, became synonymous with a certain type of Sennin in general. A type that is, shall we say, weak to women.

That means alongside the classical “8 Daoist Immortals” that were found in homes and worshipped with deep respect, there was also this type of Sennin, a lecherous old man who was always looking for his next young lady.

In other words, even if they had special magic powers and could perform amazing feats, this type of Sennin became a joke.

Kume Sennin’s legend was an iconic example, and it took root in Japanese folklore.

Thus these Sennin became common, formulaic characters.

The Cinema Influences Toriyama

By now you may be starting to see where this is headed in relation to Kame Sennin, but it gets even more interesting.

When Akira Toriyama decided to create Dragon Ball, did he receive all his inspiration for Kame Sennin’s character from this classic legend, or was there something else that played a role?

Consider for a moment that Toriyama was born in 1955 and was a huge fan of cinema, both domestic and abroad.

In 1963 a major cinematic feature was released in Japan called Dai Tozoku (大盗賊, The Great Bandit) known internationally as Samurai Pirate and in America as The Lost World of Sinbad.

Dai Tozoku was developed by Toho Co., Ltd., the makers of Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira) and other giant monster movies, Akira Kurosawa samurai films, and many Tokusatsu superhero films; All of which Toriyama has cited as inspirations for Dragon Ball. Toriyama grew up watching Toho’s movies, and they greatly affected his later work.

This particular action adventure film stars Samurai film legend Toshiro Mifune as Sukeza, a brave man who fights to regain his lost treasure from pirates and defeat a corrupt chancellor trying to overthrow the king. Along the way he meets many companions, including bandits, a princess, and a nameless Sennin.

This Sennin looks and acts shockingly similar to Kame Sennin in Dragon Ball. He’s an old Japanese man with no hair, a classic white beard and mustache, dressed in traditional Chinese hermit clothing and carrying a staff. The stereotypical Sennin outfit, actually. He also smokes from a long pipe and is missing several teeth.

When Sukeza encounters him for the first time, it’s on a beach, with the Sennin sitting in front of a giant clam shell. Sukeza says, “Who the hell are you?” The Sennin replies, “My ancestor was Kume Sennin! Haven’t you heard of him?!” Sukeza says, “Oh, it’s the man who fell to earth from the clouds when he saw a nude woman, isn’t it?” The Sennin smiles slightly and says, “That’s right. That’s the weakness that has run in my family for generations.”

The Sennin stands up to follow Sukeza, and as he crosses a bridge he sees a beautiful woman washing her clothes in a nearby river, copying the story of Kume Sennin. The camera zooms in on the woman’s cleavage and then cuts back to the widened eyes of the Sennin (just like a scene out of Dragon Ball). He becomes stiff as a board, facing the woman at a sharp 45 degree angle, as if his whole body were erect.

The Sennin suddenly screams as he realizes he’s fallen into the trap of lust. Sukeza runs back to help him, but the Sennin regains his composure and says, “Hey, don’t look at me with such contempt. It’s the blood of my ancestor at work.”

He tells Sukeza, “There are different classes of Sennin, you know. When my ancestor fell from the clouds tempted by a woman, he was demoted from the Heaven Sennin class to the Earth Sennin class. Since then, the Sennin of Kume family have devoted our lives to being promoted back to the original Heaven class.” He then sits down and crosses his legs in the full lotus meditation position. “To make up for the mistake I’ve just made, I need to train for three days.”

Like other Sennin’s, this Sennin has mighty powers. He has the ability to transform into a fly or even into other people, just like how Oolong and Puar can transform in Dragon Ball. Once, while transformed as a fly, he purposefully landed on top of a woman’s breasts in order to do some “research.” Keep that point in mind as we continue.

And to make the comparison to Dragon Ball even stronger, the Sennin fights against an evil old witch named Baba.

That’s right, Baba the Witch. She’s a fortune teller who performs magic and can fly, just like Kame Sennin’s older sister, Fortuneteller Baba (占いババ, Urunai Baba), the witch in Dragon Ball. Baba the Witch in Dai Tozoku looks somewhat similar to and even talks like Fortuneteller Baba. In Dragon Ball she’s made more comedic by wearing a stereotypical witches hat, but otherwise these two Baba the Witch characters are strikingly similar.

There are a lot of other similarities between Dragon Ball and Dai Tozoku, such as bandits, Sun Wukong’s giant red staff, and more, but that will have to wait for another post.

Suffice to say it’s my belief that Toriyama must have seen this movie as a child and was heavily influenced by it.

Toriyama had always been into comics, fantasy, animation, giant monster movies and action adventure films. He grew up on these films and soaked up their influences like a sponge. Dai Tozoku was a blockbuster with well known stars and cutting edge special effects. Since he was 11 years old at the time, it seems very likely that he would have seen this movie and then later used it as inspiration in his comics.

In this case, to create Kame Sennin.

How Was Kame Sennin Created?

This is conjecture, but I can very easily imagine the following scenario when Toriyama was creating Kame Sennin.

Toriyama had read Journey to the West and wanted to create a similar story, as advised by his first editor, Kazuhiko Torishima. He had already turned Sun Wukong into Son Goku and now he needed a “master” character like Subodhi, who taught Sun Wukong the sacred arts, in order to teach Son Goku the higher level martial arts.

Just like Subodhi, he had to be a hermit who possessed mystical Buddho-Daoist powers. But because Toriyama is such a comedic fellow, he didn’t want him to be exactly like Subodhi, as that would be too boring. Subodhi was rather strict and unkind.

So instead he based him on Kume Sennin, the well known pop culture figure. By doing so, Toriyama would be free to make all the funny, perverted jokes that he loves so much.

But a direct clone of Kume would be boring as well, as he’d have to stick too close to the already established model. So he changed one letter and turned Kume to Kame.

The name made perfect sense. Daoist Sennin’s always had some type of unique characteristic or single animal familiar anyway, such as a fish, ox, toad, donkey or dragon, so basing him on turtle’s (亀, Kame) was a nice coincidence. Turtle’s also have great significance in East Asian culture, so it would serve as a rich source of ideas and symbols. For example, long life and immortality, which is what Kame Sennin exemplifies.

Like many of Toriyama’s creations, Kame Sennin fit within traditional culture while still being outlandish and funny.

It was also easier for his young audience to understand, since they could relate Kame Sennin with Kume Sennin.

Who is Kame Sennin?

Let’s take a moment to look at Kame Sennin (亀仙人, the Turtle Hermit), otherwise known as Muten Roshi (武天老師, or Master Roshi) and see how he compares to Kume Sennin.

As we all know, Kame Sennin is the old perverted master of martial arts that lives on Kame Island in the Kame House. Like other Sennin’s, he lives alone except for his acquaintance, Turtle (海亀, Umigame), a slow yet honest talking sea turtle that comedically represents his Sennin familiar.

Kame Sennin is very much a cross cultural creation. He teaches the boys martial arts in a Zen Buddhist style of self comprehension amidst physical suffering. Meanwhile, he dresses like a Daoist Taiji master when fighting or teaching. He knows Taiji Chuan and Chinese boxing styles, and helps strengthen his disciples’ ability to use Ki (Qi). On top of that, he emulates Jackie Chan as Jackie Chun, a traditional Chinese martial arts film star. He’s a mix of Buddhist, Daoist, Chinese and Japanese.

Kame Sennin is an immortal. It’s never explained exactly how he became immortal, but he is over 300 years old by the time Goku meets him as a child, and he never ages during the progression of the story.

Visually, like Kume Sennin, Kame Sennin is a bald man with a classic white beard and mustache, and carries a classic Daoist style Chinese staff. Like the Sennin from Dai Tozoku, he occasionally smokes from a long pipe and is missing several teeth.

Kame Sennin sometimes wears traditional Chinese clothing, but the first time he’s introduced he’s humorously wearing a modern tropical Islands shirt, shorts, flip flop sandals and a pair of sunglasses. Not the typical Sennin outfit you would expect a great master to be wearing!

This is Toriyama’s comedic style at work. A fusion of cultures across different time periods.

Let’s now turn our attention to the bigger links between the two.

Kame Sennin’s Magic Cloud

Just like Kume Sennin, Kame Sennin has a magic cloud, which he calls the Kinto’un (筋斗雲), and which shares similar Kanji to the one in Journey to the West, where it’s called the “Somersault Cloud.”

Kame Sennin is unable to ride the cloud, because like his predecessor Kume Sennin, his thoughts are impure and heavy, licentious and perverted.

In chapter 4 of the manga , Kame Sennin decides to thank Goku and Bulma for saving Turtle’s life (in the previous chapter), by giving Goku a gift.

He says, “COME TO ME, IMMORTAL PHOENIX!!!”

But nothing comes.

Turtle says, “Umm… the immortal phoenix died of food poisoning.”

Kame Sennin says, “Really?! Oh yeah, now that you mention it…”

Bulma asks, “It died even though it’s immortal…?”

Kame Sennin continues, “Hmmm… I was planning on summoning the immortal phoenix and granting you eternal life… Alright! Instead of that I’ll give you this…!”

“COME TO ME!!! KINTO’UN!!!”

Off in the distance a puffy cloud appears in the sky and with super speed zips toward the group. It stops on a dime in front of them.

Goku asks, “How do I eat it?” Kame Sennin responds, “Don’t eat my treasured cloud!!!”

Bulma says, “But why do YOU have this cloud? It has nothing to do with turtles…” He says, “It’s unbecoming of children to pay attention to such details…”

He tells Goku that it can be used to fly in the sky, but that “Only those with a pure heart can ride on Kinto’un!”

Kame Sennin tries to show him how to do it, jumping with both feet above the cloud. But he falls right through and hits the sand below!

“ARRRRGGGGH, m-my back!!!” Turtle asks, “A-are you alright? “Wh-what happened…?” Bulma points and laughs. Kame Sennin says, “Mumu… th-that’s strange…”

Goku jumps on top and becomes happy. “Yaaaay, I can ride it, I can ride it!!!” He then zooms around on the cloud at breakneck speeds, performing loop-de-loops in the air as if he already had years of experience.

Since Kame Sennin can’t ride the cloud anyway, he offers it to Goku as a gift. But then Bulma asks for a gift too.

Kame Sennin says, “Unfortunately there is only one Kinto’un. But I can give you something else in its place…….. As long as… y… you… SHOW ME YOUR PANTIES FIRST!!”

Turtle screams at him, “HOW CAN A SENNIN LIKE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!”

He responds, “WH-WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?! Even Sennin’s want to see some panties once in a while!!!”

Turtle says, “Now I know why you couldn’t ride Kinto’un…” Kame Sennin glares at him, “SILENCE!!”

Bulma is shy, but decides to lift up her dress and show her panties in exchange for another great gift. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t aware that Goku had innocently taken the panties off of her while she slept, just out of curiosity to see if she had boy parts like he does.

That means Kame Sennin and Turtle got an eyeful of the goods!

As a result, blood shoots out of Kame Sennin’s nose! Why? In manga this signifies that a man has an erection. The blood pressure becomes so high that it literally shoots out of their nose! It’s the same idea as the Sennin in Dai Tozoku standing erect at a 45 degree angle, but much more pronounced and visual.

In exchange, Bulma requests his Dragon Ball, the Three Star ball.

Kame Sennin gives it to her and then thinks to himself, “I should’ve brought my camera…”

He hops on to Turtle and rides back to his Island. He says to Turtle. “Wow, I still can’t believe what I saw today… I’m gonna live a long life!”

It’s as if Kame Sennin is implying his life is going to be extended because he saw Bulma’s naked body. Toriyama is basically presenting a child-like version of what the Daoist Sennin in China sought after, with their virgin “Jade Girls.” That is, the immortal elixir created by invigoration of their own “vital essence.”

Since the source of Kame Sennin’s immortality is never explained, perhaps this is how he became immortal in the first place!

And perhaps that is why he’s always looking for more pretty girls.

A Pure Heart and a Dirty Heart

Why was Goku able to ride the Kinto’un, while Kame Sennin was not?

Goku was pure hearted and simple minded, so the cloud supported him.

The ultimate goal of Daoism is to return to your original, true self. To return to the simple, pure hearted nature that we have as children, what Daoists refer to as, “The Uncarved Block.” Goku was already at this state, so he was able to ride the cloud.

Kame Sennin obviously no longer met that standard.

Consider the following question. Why would Kame Sennin have a flying cloud that he can’t ride?

To answer that, we also have to ask, how did Kame Sennin receive the Kinto’un in the first place?

It’s not explicitly shown, but it’s mentioned he got it from Karin, the Senbyō (仙猫, Hermit Cat or Immortal Cat) that lives in Karin Tower, the midway point between earth and Kami’s Lookout. Note that Senbyō and Sennin share the same first character, both referring to their hermit like nature.

Kame Sennin climbed up the impossibly tall Karin Tower, doing something that few people were ever strong enough to do. He also defeated Karin in combat and acquired the Super Holy Water. We are then led to believe that Karin gave it to him as a reward.

Why is this likely? Because in the original Dragon Ball series we see that Goku receives his own Kinto’un from Karin after performing the same feats. He had to replace the one that Kame Sennin gave him because it was killed by Piccolo Daimao’s child, Tambourine, a member of the Mazoku (Demon Clan).

Karin gave the Kinto’un to Goku because of his purity of heart and great inner qualities. That is the requirement for receiving it and also riding it.

Karin’s primary responsibility is to prevent the unworthy from going higher up and meeting Kami. The Kinto’un is unable to take a person higher than Karin’s Tower. To go higher, you need the Nyoibo staff that connects the top of Karin Tower to the bottom of Kami’s Lookout. But to even get the Kinto’un you first have to prove to Karin that you are pure of heart.

How did Kame Sennin ever get it? As a young man while training under Master Mutaito (alongside Tsuru Sennin (Crane Hermit)) he was already chasing after women and peeking at them through the bushes. Why would Karin give it to him if he was impure and couldn’t ride it?

The most likely reason is that at some point in his long life Kame Sennin climbed the tower, cultivated a pure heart and received the cloud from Karin. Karin tells Goku that it took Kame Sennin 3 whole years to defeat him. It took that much time to purify his heart and calm his mind.

Then later in his life he became licentious all over again, falling to the earth just like Kume Sennin!

Makes sense when you consider the inspiration for his character, doesn’t it? He cultivated well, received the blessings, then became lustful and lost his powers.

We never once get to see Kame Sennin ride the cloud that he rightfully earned.

But unlike Kume Sennin, Kame Sennin did not renew his cultivation. He stayed on his Island, living in comfort, watching the exercise girls on TV and reading pornographic magazines.

As a lonely old man unable to let go of his attachments, he continued to chase after every pretty girl he could find, for the rest of his life.

Forever alone.

Pervy Sage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MswXUj1UoCc

Kume Sennin’s story represents a transition point between showing immortals in a respectful way and showing immortals in a lustful and comical way. I surmise that over time, perhaps centuries, this then created a formulaic concept of Daoist Sennin’s being dirty old men who live in the wilderness and chase after pretty girls.

Meanwhile, Japan had a long history of slightly risqué art, depicting men peeking at women from a distance, or seeing underneath their skirts.

Toriyama then took these two humorous concepts to the extreme (as he tends to do) and made Kame Sennin, a blatantly lecherous immortal.

Kame Sennin is now such an iconic character that I would argue he is one of the most well known manga and anime characters of all time. Definitely not the most popular, but certainly well known. He is the martial arts master of Son Goku, after all.

Kame Sennin represents all the perverted, dirty old men of the world who also happen to be martial arts masters!

Of course there may not be many of those in real life, but just as Kume Sennin was iconic enough to inspire the creation of Kame Sennin, Kame Sennin was iconic enough to inspire the creation of Gama Sennin.

Who is Gama Sennin?

Toriyama’s Dragon Ball directly inspired manga author Masashi Kishimoto to create the Naruto series of Manga, often described as the spiritual successor to Dragon Ball. In Naruto, he created a character just like Kame Sennin, known as Gama Sennin (蝦蟇仙人, The Frog Hermit), also known as Jiraiya. And the titular character Naruto is a lot like Goku.

Toriyama’s influence on Kishimoto was profound, as Kishimoto has even stated that, “Toriyama is like a god to me.”

Kishimito, just like Toriyama, mined traditional Japanese legends for inspiration of his characters, while also having modern influences.

Going back in time to traditional culture, the Gama Sennin in Naruto was directly inspired by a 10^th century Sennin alchemist who learned the secrets of Immortality from a 3 legged toad. Like the Kame Sennin legend, Jiraiya is also the name of another Japanese legend, called Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya), a man who was a master shape shifting ninja associated with toads. He was one of three master ninja’s, the other two being Tsunade (associated with snails / slugs) and Orochimaru (associated with snakes). Together they made up the Sannin (Three Ninja’s). The giant toads and ninjutsu techniques in Naruto are a representation of his ancient background and Sennin powers.

In the modern sense, Naruto’s Jiraiya is directly inspired by Toriyama’s Kame Sennin, as a dirty old man who chases skirts, gropes women whenever he has the chance, and ogle’s girls from a distance through his telescope. Jiraiya takes Naruto on “research” expeditions, which involve hanging out at brothels, or peeking at women through the bushes, like Kame Sennin did as a young man, and like Kume Sennin’s descendent depicted in Dai Tozoku.

Jiraiya’s licentious ways are so obvious that Naruto gives him the nickname Ero Sennin, translated as “Perverted Hermit,” or the shorter, “Pervy Sage.”

Pervy Sage is now a term all its own, and refers to these types of formulaic characters: The super powerful old man who can kick butt and dispense wisdom, but also has an inherent weakness for the ladies.

These characters, Kame Sennin from Dragon Ball and Gama Sennin from Naruto, are regarded as two of the most iconic pervy sage’s in Japanese pop culture. They define the term.

After reading this article you can now see they had a predecessor in Kume Sennin. And the interplay between the three offers a fascinating look into ancient and modern Japanese culture.

A Popular Legend, Retold

Why was Kume Sennin a popular tale for thousands of years? Because he was a mystical, yet perverted hermit who finds redemption.

Kame Sennin is also a super powerful being who is human yet has relatable flaws. Plus he’s endearingly funny.

Successful in their cultivation or not, both of these perverted Sennin had this weakness of the heart and were relatable to the human condition.

Kume Sennin was an iconic Japanese Sennin figure, even though the majority of Sennin were inherited from the Chinese. And just like Journey to the West, where in Japan it became known as Saiyuki (西遊記) and received Japanese flavor, Kume Sennin was the Japanese representation of Chinese traditional culture and Buddho-Daoist beliefs. A cross cultural Chinese Daoist figure written about by Japanese Buddhist monks. That is to say, Chinese culture with Japanese characteristics.

Kame Sennin represents the same mix.

Let’s trace the path of inspiration. Ancient cultural beliefs in spiritual cultivation via Buddha and Dao led to Kume Sennin and Journey to the West. Then for Toriyama, Journey to the West’s Sun Wukong led to Son Goku, and its’ Subodhi figure led to Kume Sennin, which led to Kame Sennin. This then led Kishimoto to Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, which finally led to Naruto and Gama Sennin.

In all three cases the dirty old man became an iconic figure, and in all three stories the legend became popular among the masses.

The Kume Sennin story is extremely popular. The Kame Sennin story is extremely popular. The Game Sennin story is extremely popular.

Maybe the secret to success is being a dirty old man.

Returning to the Way and Ascending

The Kume Sennin legend tells of a man who achieved great heights, stumbled, and then found the Way again.

His legend shows the dangers of lustfulness, revealing that it will weigh you down in illusion and prevent you from rising to higher levels. It also shows the moral importance of remaining virtuous and returning to your true calling.

Unfortunately Kame Sennin was unable to do this. He fell down and stayed down, basically giving up on his cultivation after attaining immortality. He was undisciplined and succumbed to comfort and pleasure. Routinely failing the test of lust, he stayed fixed at the same level for the rest of his life.

Goku on the other hand, never had this problem. This is why he surpassed his master so quickly. Simply by being a pure hearted little boy, he did what Kame Sennin could not.

In the end of Kume Sennin’s story, he leaves his wife and kids behind. He decides that his own cultivation is more important. Through this action he lives up to the standard of a dedicated cultivator of those times. He cut his ties to the mundane world and let go of his attachments.

As harsh as that may sound, from a traditional cultivation perspective it was the right thing to do for his own salvation. He had to let go of sentimentality for family in order to escape from the cycle of life and death. All attachments had to be eliminated.

Goku, just like Kume Sennin, flies on a magical cloud, has supernormal abilities, and fell into the mundane world as he was essentially pushed into marriage by Chi-Chi.

Yet Goku is ultimately more focused on his own cultivation than he is on his wife and children. He prefers to train and refine his abilities rather than play the role of a family man. He fulfills some of his familial responsibilities, but at his core it’s not what drives him and truly makes him happy.

I honestly think that Goku would be happier living alone as a hermit, maybe with a single disciple, just like each of his martial arts masters. Goku is not concerned with staying around family for sentimental reasons. He doesn’t have that attachment. Like a true Saiyan (a true cultivator), he just wants to train. He understands that this is the purpose of his life.

In fact, this is exactly how Dragon Ball Z ends, with Goku finding his one disciple, Uub, among all the people of the world. He tracks down the reincarnated Majin Buu, unlocks his incredible power, and then flies away with his new student, leaving all of his family and friends behind. He even gives Uub the Kinto’un, and Uub can ride it.

Goku returns to the Way that makes him truly happy. He passes the magic cloud onto the next generation, and the two of them soar off into the distance to begin their training!

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Kame Sennin and Kume Sennin – The Perverted Hermits

That’s right, there is now a Dragon Ball religion. It is called Gokuism, also known as The Church of Goku.

Gokuism is the belief that the principles of Dragon Ball provide a moral compass for one’s life, and that Goku is an ideal role model and moralistic person. By some definitions, it implies that Goku provides personal, global, and universal salvation, and that his death and resurrections were for our sake.

With so many religions already existing, why create this one based on Dragon Ball?

In today’s blog post you’ll learn where Gokuism came from, what its practitioners believe, and explore some thought provoking questions about this new faith.

The Roots of Gokuism

For many fans, Dragon Ball has always held a special place in their hearts. It’s more than just a show. Some spiritually inclined fans find moral lessons that align with their own perspectives, or they are inspired by Goku’s actions to improve themselves. This can range from hitting the gym to trying to become more honest and pure.

In Western Europe and North America there are believers in Judeo-Christian tenets that feel their beliefs relate to the principles in Dragon Ball. They see Goku’s actions and are inspired to become closer to God. But such inspirations had always been restrained within the understandable confines of Dragon Ball being a fabricated series, not an actual paradigm of salvation. And they were individually personal, not promulgated to others.

In this college essay from 2009, “cmvitolo” wrote, “He was a role model of a father, a great guy, strong and above all, caring. This one character, named Goku, demonstrated this beautiful personality, and his positive attitude and pure heart affected me. … As a follower of Christ, I was further influenced by Goku’s ability to do exactly what Christ had suggested we do: “Love your enemy.””

Bringing it to others via Gokuism, Dragon Ball fans have taken a story and world that they know is fantastical to begin with, and made a belief system out of it.

This is not an official religion endorsed by the Japanese license holders, nor the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama. It springs from the collective minds of fans.

There does not seem to be a single specific place that Gokuism originated. As a global phenomenon promulgated through the internet, Gokuism could have first appeared anywhere and then gained popularity. Although it has a somewhat larger following in Spain and Mexico.

At the moment, Gokuism seems to have just begun, with only a few sites and established groups existing on the internet. But the comparisons between Goku and Jesus Christ have been around for as long as the series has been popular, which I explore below.

Given more time, what might the future hold? Could Goku become a bigger religious icon or a larger symbol of faith?

Before you write off the possibility, consider for a moment that this exact thing has already occurred with another very well known series.

Gokuism and Jediism

Gokuism appears similar to the Jedi Religion born from Star Wars, known as Jediism, or The Jedi Church

Is Jediism for real? Yes, very much so. According to Wikipedia, Jediism is an actual recognized religion in Canada. And in the 2001 census for England and Wales, there were over 390,127 declared followers. That same year in New Zealand there were 53,000 declared Jedi followers, even eclipsing the amount of Buddhists. There are followers across the world, and you can see the resources below for more information.

Sociologically what I find most interesting is the cross cultural comparison between the two.

Both Gokuism and Jediism are fan based creations aligned with pseudo-religious spirituality and eastern principles.

Jediism was based on a western creation interwoven with eastern Daoist / Zen mysticism and Taiji theories ala the Force. While Gokuism was based off an eastern creation interwoven with Buddho-Daoist legends and American Hollywood influences, and then recently paralleled with Judeo-Christian beliefs of the west.

It’s as if each group of followers is looking outside their own culture for something else and then finding ways to connect it to their already accepted world view.

Numerous books about Star Wars and living the path of the Jedi have been written, where the authors detail the similarities between Jedi philosophy and western belief systems, so as to make the content relatable. Is Dragon Ball the next subject for this treatment?

On the Facebook page titled Evangelical Gokuism, the owner says he created the page “To spread the message of our personal savior Goku, as well as promote my forthcoming book, “Praying to Goku.””

As Dragon Ball is in many ways a similar phenomenon to Star Wars (with films, a global fan base, billion dollar licensing deals, etc.), could Gokuism become the next Jediism? It has the same qualifications, such as worldwide appeal, an in-world belief system, an afterlife, demons, deities, and martial arts based paths of personal development.

Star Wars fans find the Daoist / Zen Buddhist perspective attractive enough to make it their lifestyle, so it seems logical that Dragon Ball fans would as well, since it is based on Journey to the West. In addition, members of both fan bases share similar ‘nerdy’ traits, and it is common to admire both series.

But truth be told, on a larger scale it seems that Gokuism is still years away from reaching the level of the Jedi Church, if at all. That said, Dragon Ball is incredibly popular. Perhaps all Gokuism would need to grow is another televised Dragon Ball series or a successful series of Hollywood films, thus pushing it further into the minds of the populace.

The Beliefs of Gokuism

What are the beliefs of Gokuism?

At the bare minimum, practicing Gokuism implies that you are a huge fan of Goku, as can be seen on this Spanish Facebook page, called “Because he Died for Us and Rose Again to Save Us… WE LOVE YOU GOKU,” which has over 290,000 Likes.

On a more religious level there is unfortunately little material available on the actual beliefs or tenants. At the moment there are no texts or codified materials. There is this site in Spanish that lists the 10 Commandments of Goku, but it appears to be a joke.

From what is available online I gather that Goku is perceived as a super powerful figure who sacrificed his life, was reborn, and fought for the salvation of mankind. Goku is taken as the physical and moral ideal. A role model of innocence and purity who has unfathomable power yet only uses it to help others.

According to one Gokuism Facebook page, it states the following creed. “Do you believe that Goku is the all powerful son of Bardock? Do you believe that Goku has a power level Over 9,000? Do you believe that Goku died, trained with King Kai, and was resurrected? Do you believe that Goku defeated Freeza, and gave Son Gohan the motivation to defeat Cell? Do you believe that you would give Goku your energy if he ever did another Spirit Bomb?”

Elsewhere, this sacrament appears. “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Saiyan Spirit.”

On a Spanish Facebook Gokuism page, it says, “Goku is above all things. Gohan is seated at the right of the father. Through the work of Vegeta he spoke through the prophets.”

Honestly I can’t tell if these are jokes or genuine beliefs. I contacted the owners of several sites to try and get answers to my questions, but did not hear back.

More importantly, what does a follower get if they believe these things? The ability to fire a Kamehameha, fly into the air, teleport, or punch through mountains? So far nobody has promised these abilities to converts, but if the movement became more serious, these temptations would be easy bait to swing in front of the eyes, just like Jedi Force powers.

It’s not that far-fetched, either. Consider that these same promises and belief systems were proselytized during the Boxer Revolution (1898 to 1901) in China, and among the White Lotus sects and secret religious martial arts clans for thousands of years. The result was millions of violent deaths.

In regards to physicality, if I had to conjecture, I would imagine that practitioners of Gokuism should also try and embody Goku’s exercise regimen and dietetic practices, such as avoiding alcohol and consuming healthy, natural foods, while training in the martial arts. This seems positive.

What is the ultimate goal of Gokuism? To simply live a better life in the model of Goku? Or does it encompass entering Heaven and fighting demons and other villains as well? Maybe the more spiritual aspects are perceived as allegory for internal conflicts and achievements within the practitioner.

Gokuism opens up a gigantic can of theological worms, so for my own sake I’ll stop with conjecturing here.

As it happens, Gokuism is just beginning, and the majority of inspiration for its existence seems to have sprung from followers of Christianity.

Son Goku and Jesus Christ

Ever since Dragon Ball has become popular in the mid to late 90’s, comparisons between Son Goku and Superman have often been made. Likewise, comparisons between Son Goku and Jesus Christ. There are reasons why.

Consider that in all three cases, the “only son” was sent from “heaven” down to earth, where he matured and harnessed supernormal or “divine” powers to fight against “great evil” and “save humanity.” The three stories are similar in many ways.

Followers of Gokuism (Gokuists?) often seem to believe in both Goku and Jesus Christ. Theologically speaking, can a person who practices Gokuism also practice another faith simultaneously? I would think that eventually they would have to decide which one is their true personal savior.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcGjbTXIuVM

In the above video, rumored to be from Spain, titled “Ten Reasons Why I Am a Gokuista and Not a Christian,” the creator, EspirituNoTanSanto, states why he believes Goku is superior to Jesus.

For example, Reason 1, “The Number of Times They Saved the World.” According to the video, Jesus saved the world once, against Satan, by removing original sin. Goku on the other hand, saved the world from Pilaf, the Red Ribbon Army, Piccolo, Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa, Freeza, Cell, Majin Buu, and the Evil Dragons.

Reason 2, “The Number of Times Resurrected.” Jesus was only resurrected once, but Goku was resurrected twice.

Reason 3, “Their Skills.” Jesus can heal the blind, raise the dead, remove sin, walk on water, and multiply fish. Goku has the Kamehameha, Kaioken, Taioken, Dragon Fist, Teleport and Genki Dama.

It goes on like that for 7 more slides, concluding in the argument that Goku lived his entire life for other people and would soundly defeat Jesus in a fight. Therefore, he is the “Undisputed Winner.”

Dragon Ball and Parallels to Christianity

To be fair, there are many genuine parallels that can be drawn between Judeo Christian beliefs and the world of Dragon Ball, with Goku in particular.

For example, in regards to the Holy Trinity, Goku is simultaneously the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In one sense, he is the Son of Bardock, the Father of Gohan, and a Spiritual being that resides in both Heaven and Earth. He finishes Bardock’s fight against Freeza, closing the circle of “savior of the people” against “persecutory tyrant.” In a sense, he is like the child that was sent down in order to defeat Satan. He is also made in the same image as Bardock.

In another perspective, Goku is a Father to Gohan and Goten, the youngest and last pure blooded Son of the Saiyan people, and a Spiritual being that can manifest physically in two places at once. For example, after sacrificing his life and going to Heaven, he physically helped Gohan defeat Cell on Earth. Likewise, he rescued Gohan from the death grip of Bojack, appearing in physical form for a split second in order to punch Bojack in the face and free his son. Both acts could be considered the definition of a miracle.

Lastly, in Dragon Ball GT, Goku as an adult is the Father who shrinks down in size and becomes a child (aka the Son), while maintaining his mind and Spiritual powers. He is all three beings at once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDfsF4zDdR0

Goku experienced many great tests. For example, at the end of the original Dragon Ball series Kami asks Goku to replace him as God and ascend the throne. But Goku refuses, choosing to remain on earth as a poor hermit so that he can continue improving and fighting stronger opponents.

There are also the demonic beings that Goku defeats, such as Broly. In Dragon Ball Z movie 8, Broly said the following. “Me, a monster? No, I am the Devil.” Christian fans of DBZ have grabbed onto this as an argument that Goku is defeating the devil. Similarly, Piccolo and several others also refer to themselves as demons. Goku defeats them all.

In terms of holy powers, in Dragon Ball Z movie 5, Cooler’s Revenge, Goku holds a dead bird in his hand and brings it back to life. And of course there is the ‘laying on of hands’ that Dende performs on others when healing them. Although from my perspective I believe this stems more from Daoist Qigong energy healing found in the eastern martial arts.

In any case, there are many other parallels to be drawn, and perhaps these are the reasons why people believe in the ideal of Goku and follow his way.

Practicing Ones Faith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SBMTHcAwXA

Fantastical or otherwise, in the mind of a believer, Goku represents an ideal that can be followed.

Having considered the emerging presence of Gokuism and its reasons for being, it may be easy to see why Goku is considered a god, or even a manifestation of God Himself. Goku’s ability to save others and defeat evil, while teleporting between dimensions and enduring the unendurable, all lend credence to the perspective that he is a holy being.

Naturally this brings up the question of religious tolerance, and whether or not Gokuism should be considered a valid religion.

In the above video’s description the creator says, “Do you realize something? The character of Jesus is as fictional and or fanciful as Goku. However, people consider it ridiculous to worship Goku and not Jesus.”

Should a religion based on a cartoon character be taken seriously? Is Goku real? Is Jesus real? Is it all in the mind of the believer?

Goku’s origins can be traced directly back to the mind of Akira Toriyama, a comic book creator in Japan influenced by eastern legends, Hong Kong martial arts, and Hollywood cinema. We know for a fact that Goku is a fabrication.

For Jesus’ origins we have the biblical texts and historical artifacts that point in His direction, but no definitive proof. Thus His existence is, arguably, dependent on faith.

And yet for a practitioner of Gokuism, who may seemingly also believe in Judeo-Christian beliefs, does it even matter? I don’t think so, because in the mind of a practitioner, gradual self improvement toward an ideal is all that matters, even if the source of motivation is fabricated.

In The Dao of Dragon Ball book I quote a young man who said that Goku helped him come closer to Jesus, and that he hopes that when he dies, that Goku is there waiting for him. He is not a declared follow of Gokuism, and I don’t think he had ever heard of the practice, but in either case, both belief systems are reflecting off one another and providing reciprocal motivation.

In the end, while it seems Gokuism has been around for years on an individual level, it is only now beginning to establish itself on the internet. This means Gokuism may fade away, or it may grow. Only time will tell.

Concluding Thoughts

Since there are so many unanswered questions, that means this post serves as a great conversation starter. I’d love to hear what you guys think.

Personally, if I got into the mind of a Gokuist, I would immediately ask myself the question, “What would Goku think of all this?”

I believe he’d scratch his head, let out a laugh, and then return to his training.

Resources

Definition of Gokuism

The Church of Goku

Goku and the Church of Latter Day Saiyans

Evangelical Gokuism

I am a Dragon Ball Gokuista

Gokuism Group

Gokuism Group 2

Gokuism Group – Resurrection

Religión Gokuista

Because he Died for Us and Rose Again to Save Us… WE LOVE YOU GOKU

Gokuism on Tripod [The Great Book of Shenron]

Goku and Jesus Comparisons

Comments and Jokes on Reddit about Gokuism

The 10 Commandments of Goku

Christianity and Goku

Essay on Goku and Christ

Morality and Jesus vs Goku

Goku is NOT God

Super Saiyan Jesus

The Return of Jesus as a Super Saiyan

An Internet Theory about Goku and World History

The Jedi Church

Jediism Census Info on Wikipedia

Temple of the Jedi Order

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Gokuism – The Church of Goku

In Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama incorporates spirit possession as a way to propel character development and plot.

This article explores how Toriyama was inspired by ancient belief systems and spirit possession traditions.

What is Spirit Possession?

Wikipedia defines spirit possession as “A paranormal or supernatural event in which it is said that spirits, gods, demons, animas, extraterrestrials, or other disincarnate or extraterrestrial entities take control of a human body, resulting in noticeable changes in health and behavior.”

In eastern Buddhism, Daoism, Korean Shamanism, Shinto and Japanese new age movements, spirit possession can also include the summoning of a spirit into an inanimate object, such as a sword, medallion or statue. In Japan, Shinto priests imbued samurai swords with foreign spirits (called Kami, 神) to increase their battle power or provide otherworldly protection.

In Dragon Ball Z we have many cases of spirits entering or being forced into inanimate objects. For example, using the Mafuba technique to seal a demon in the Denshi Jar; Tapion playing his ocarina to seal Hildegarn in the music box; and Rou Dai Kaioshin being trapped inside the Z Sword for millions of years, only being set free after the blade broke.

But in this article we’re going to focus on the spirit possession that affects people who are controlled by a foreign spirit unwillingly, or willingly ask a foreign spirit to control them in exchange for something else.

The History of Spirit Possession in Asia

Spirit possession is found in many world cultures, including Christianity. But the majority of Dragon Ball’s inspiration stems from East Asian belief systems, including from India, China and Japan.

The Anunka warriors of ancient India purposefully sought spirit possession to gain greater power. They would chant, enter into a trance, and plead foreign spirits to attach themselves to their bodies or take over their minds. In this manner they were said to become super strong in battle, going far beyond the limits of normal men.

The martial arts practices and religions of India were the precursors to many of the Chinese belief systems. They were inherited by the Chinese through the Ksatreya style of martial arts, and Buddhist and Brahmin systems.

Around 475 BC in Northeastern China there was a group known as the Fang Shi (Esoteric Magic Masters, 方士) who practiced shamanistic spirit possession. They were somewhat of a pre Daoist religious group of ascetics, with beliefs in the Five Elements, a Supreme Ultimate (Tai Ji), exorcisms, divination and alchemical immortality.

Primarily consisting of hermits and wanderers, the Fang Shi used magic arts to seek everlasting life, summon demons or spirits, predict the future and gain supernormal powers.

Considered technicians of magic, their practice grew in popularity and even courtroom influence until the government considered it a dangerous cult and outlawed it, ending the practice in approximately 569 AD.

The belief systems and physical practices of the Fang Shi were inherited by the Daoists, whom, in some of their organized forms, would become the literati immortality cults of China. The Daoists attempted to turn ignoble metals into gold, create immortality elixirs, give birth to ephemeral dragons in their own bodies, communicate with spirits in other dimensions and gain everlasting life through physical exercises.

Across centuries the Daoist and Buddhist martial arts became interwoven with the beliefs of the immortality cults, which then became replaced with elite sectarian religions and the continuation of earlier practices, such as shamanistic rituals.

The Fang Shi “magicians” were the precursors to many of the Daoist and Buddhist magical abilities and rituals of common belief. These became the sources of myths and legends which would find their way into novels like Journey to the West and Great Water Margin.

Dragon Ball is directly inspired by these epic stories, and so we also find them in Dragon Ball.

Virtue and Vice

There have been many different cultivation practices throughout history. Some practices teach honesty, compassion and the letting go of desires, while others promote greed, power and the satisfaction of worldly desires. Some are freed by virtue, while others are controlled by vice.

But no matter the principles, at some point a teacher needs to find a disciple.

In ancient China there was a phrase attributed to Daoism that says, “The master looks for a disciple, not the disciple looks for a master.”

It implies that when the time is right, the master looks for a particular quality within a person to see if they would be a good fit to inherit their practice. In the case of the Daoists, what they were looking for was virtue (Chinese: De, 德).

They had to find somebody with high level inborn quality and a large amount of virtue attached to their spirit. With that, the disciple would have an easier time enlightening, and their cultivation practice would meet with success. Without it, the practice would be very difficult and they may fail.

But masters of unrighteous practices sought just the opposite. They looked for disciples with wicked hearts and selfish minds. They wanted people who desired self validation and externalities.

In other words, those with weak hearts; something the Chinese referred to as “e” and the Japanese as Aku (悪).

In addition to the master seeking a disciple, there are sacred possessions and demonic possessions aligned with a person’s level of character.

In religious systems across the world, such as Christianity and Buddhism, it’s taught that exceptionally good people who are aligned with virtue can have their bodies possessed by ‘angelic’ life forms. They are used by heavenly forces to transmit the holy Law, complete important missions or physically receive marks, such as stigmata, as manifest proof of divinity. Their bodies are taken control of, they receive genius inspiration or they are guided along a fortuitous path to do sacred things.

Similarly, those who seek to achieve worldly desires and perform evil acts are essentially inviting things such as foxes, snakes, demons and ghosts, low level spirits, onto themselves. Because their thinking is the same as these creatures, their weak minds are pushed aside and their bodies are possessed.

So let’s take a look at these two different scenarios. One good. One evil.

First the good.

Kami and Shen

In Dragon Ball episode 139, Piccolo has entered the 23^rd Tenkaichi Budokai to fight and kill Goku.

Kami also enters the tournament so that he can confront Piccolo and defeat him. But he does not do so directly. Instead, he tries to surprise Piccolo by possessing the body of a human being as a disguise.

He chooses a man with the ring name of Shen (シェン), called Hero in the FUNimation dub. Shen is a homonym for Shen (神), an originally Chinese word meaning God, Divine, and Holy, but Shen’s name is written in Katakana instead of Kanji.

Shen is a nerdy, skinny middle-aged man who does not seem like the best choice for a martial arts tournament. Kami said in a later episode that he chose Shen because of his good nature.

Yamcha fights against Shen in the semi-finals and they have a conversation.

Shen says, “This is just between you and me, but I’m not really human.”

Yamcha laughs and dismisses the comment. “Don’t tell me you’re some sort of space alien or something.”

“Maybe, maybe not. All I can tell you is that I’ve borrowed this person’s body for a little while. Simply put, I’ve transferred my spirit into this body.”

What’s funny is that Kami actually is a space alien, but this hasn’t been revealed yet in the series.

Shen defeats Yamcha after a dramatic twist, and Goku realizes that Shen and Kami are the same person.

Goku thinks to himself, “Competitor Shen… Shen… Shen Long… Shen! That’s it! That middle aged man is actually Kami-Sama!”

While Shen and Yamcha are recovering from the match, Shen realizes there is blood on his chin. “Oh my, I’ve gone and injured my host body.”

With blood also running down his chin, but a smile on his face, Yamcha says, “I never had a chance of winning against someone who could take a direct hit from my Soukidan.”

Shen was able to survive Yamcha’s most powerful Ki attack, despite the fact that Shen was a weak, untrained, skinny middle-aged man completely unfit for the Tenkaichi Budokai.

Shen seemingly had all of the powers and abilities of Kami. This implies that it’s not the body that matters most; it’s the spirit that controls it.

Piccolo and Kami

In Dragon Ball episode 142, Kami, inside the body of Shen, faces off against Piccolo.

Shen attempts to use the Mafuba (魔封波) technique against Piccolo, sealing him in the jar for eternity.

Piccolo realizes Kami is in control of the body. He screams, “Kami, what are you doing in the Lower Realm?!”

Piccolo figures out how to win, and the Mafuba technique doesn’t work because he reverses it against Kami!

Trapped inside the Mafuba’s wave, Kami screams, “Dammit, it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. At least let this human body go!”

And then the human body drops away and Kami’s true form appears inside the Mafuba’s spiral.

Piccolo, with great satisfaction, traps him inside the jar.

Shen’s body lay on the battle stage, and Piccolo Daimao holds the Mafuba jar in his hand that contains his former self and counterpart, Kami.

Piccolo’s father, Piccolo Daimao, the Demon King, had once been sealed in the Mafuba jar before, and he grew old and weary while inside. Now Piccolo Daimao Jr. had enacted his revenge.

In Dragon Ball episode 143, Piccolo laughs, “I’ve sealed Kami-sama, who had taken control of his body, inside this!”

Shen fails to get up during the 10 count, and Piccolo wins the match.

The announcer runs over to Shen to see if he’s okay. He says, “Shen-san! Shen-san!”

Shen wakes up, blinking his eyes in total confusion. He looks around, puzzled at what’s going on. The crowd cheers for him because of his performance up to that point of the Semi-Finals.

He asks the Announcer, “Um, this wouldn’t be where they’re holding the Tenkaichi Budokai, would it?”

“Eh? Yes, that’s right. Did you happen to hit your head or something?”

Shen looks around at Piccolo, Goku and the others, and is completely baffled. “Ah, silly me!” Then he embarrassingly runs off the stage.

He says to himself, “How strange. When did I get up there? Did I have a couple drinks or something?”

Then Shen’s son comes out from the crowd. “Daddy! I never knew you were so strong, Daddy!”

Shen had absolutely no recollection of the event, and his conscious mind had been completely repressed by Kami’s presence.

Kami took control of a human’s body and did what he felt was necessary for the greater good of mankind, fulfilling his role as Guardian of earth in a way that is very similar to the role of deities in traditional culture: Indirectly, and through the body of a human.

Now let’s take a look at an evil example of spirit possession in Dragon Ball.

The Majin

Much later in the series, in episode 228 of Dragon Ball Z, a higher level deity named Kaioshin has descended to earth in order to defeat the evil sorcerer, Madoshi Babidi.

Madoshi Babidi has the ability to possess the hearts of wicked men. The more evil their hearts, the easier it is to control them.

The beings Babidi possesses gain superhuman strength. Some are filled with intense anger and lose control of their personalities. They become maniacal slaves that are not only more malicious, but also seemingly invincible and impervious to pain.

In the 25^th Tenkaichi Budokai, two fighters named Spopovich and Yamu willingly allow themselves to be possessed by Babidi in exchange for more power.

Like the superhuman warriors possessed by foreign powers in the ancient legends, they have become fearful, almost unstoppable warriors. They violently fight their way up the tournament ladder.

When Videl (Gohan’s girlfriend) fights back against Spopovich’s endless assault, she kicks him in the head and breaks his neck. But he simply twists his head back into place and continues the fight, beating her to the brink of death.

Majin (魔人) is a label in Dragon Ball given to anybody that is possessed in such a manner. You can tell they are possessed because they have the mark of the Majin “M” on their foreheads or elsewhere on the body.

In colloquial Japanese, Ma (魔) has come to mean magic, or enchanted, while Jin (人) means man, or being, so Majin is commonly translated as “magical being.” In some ways this makes sense, but this is a shallow understanding of the original Kanji.

Likewise, Madoshi (魔道師) is a word that is often translated shallowly as Magician.

Ma (魔) means demon, evil spirit, witch, or describes an evil influence, power, enchantment or ability.

Do (道) is the Japanese pronunciation of Dao. It means the way, path, school, or practice, and is the same Dao from Daoism.

Shi (師) means teacher, master, or expert.

When put together, Madoshi means “Demon Way Master,” or “Master of the Demonic Way.”

So you can see that Madoshi Babidi is much more than a simple magician. He’s a genuine master of the dark arts. Similarly, a Majin is more than just enchanted. They are demons.

The Kanji for Ma (魔) suggests that all beings given this label are the antithesis of upright beings, driven to threaten humanity or overthrow the heavens.

In fact, Madoshi Babidi is the son of Madoshi Bibidi, an evil sorcerer who once did battle against the Kaioshin’s (界王神), the deities of the Dragon Ball cosmos.

In order to fight the gods, Madoshi Bibidi conjured up an evil demon that he named Majin Buu (魔人ブウ).

Buu (ブウ), written in Katakana, is also a homonym for Bu (武), meaning martial arts, warrior, war, or martial. Majin Buu thus essentially means “Demonic Being of War.”

Then why is it written as Buu instead of Bu? Because humorously, their names together are Bibidi, Babidi, Buu. This is the same magic incantation used by the Fairy God Mother in Disney’s Cinderella (1950), and is also called “The Magic Song.” Toriyama used it here as a verbal joke. Wikipedia states that “Most Japanese merchandise spells Buu’s name in the proper “Boo,” just like the song.”

Madoshi Babidi seeks to awaken Majin Buu from the egg-like cocoon he was sealed inside by the surviving Kaioshin’s, ages ago. Like Piccolo Daimao, this great evil had been sealed away.

Realizing the threat this poses to humanity, Kaioshin arrives on earth. One planet out of the countless he oversees.

Kaioshin meets with and convinces Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta to attack Babidi’s ship. He wants to destroy Babidi and his spirit possessed slave, Dabura, the King of Demons, before they can awaken Majin Buu.

Dabura is the King of the Demon Realm (Japanese: Makai, 魔界), a world in an inverse dimension to that of earth, where everything is dark, evil and populated by demons. Babidi is an incredibly powerful sorcerer to have been able to possess Dabura. Toriyama named Dabura after the second half of the magical incantation, “Abracadabra.”

Dabura fights against Gohan and in the midst of battle witnesses a moment of impatience and anger in Vegeta, who tires of their drawn out conflict and is disappointed by Gohan’s relative weakness after the 5 years of peace following the Cell Games.

Dabura immediately withdraws from the battle, saying, “I myself do not need to fight. I’ve found a good warrior [to do so for me].”

Babidi and Vegeta

Vegeta is frustrated and wants to end this stupid adventure so he can finally challenge Goku in a fight. He decides he’s going to blast a hole through Babidi’s spaceship, straight down to the lowest level.

Kaioshin stops him, shouting, “If you do such a thing, Majin Buu will be revived! Majin Buu is a monster who does nothing but create destruction and slaughter again and again. He is quite literally a demonic being, as four of the Kaioshin were no match for him! If Majin Buu is revived, then mankind… no, all living things will be put to death, and the earth will unmistakably be turned into a planet of death.”

Just as Kami sensed the goodness in the heart of Shen, Dabura senses the evil in Vegeta’s heart. He advises Babidi to attempt spirit possession on Vegeta.

Goku and Gohan were untouchable, but Vegeta’s impatience and tolerance hinted at flaws in his character.

Babidi looks at Vegeta through his crystal ball, talking to Dabura. “You’re right, he’s different from the others. It’s just as you said. His heart is filled with wickedness. He hasn’t come here for any just cause at all!”

Babidi casts his spell, saying “We’re going to have you serve us.”

Vegeta’s head is filled with pain. He writhes in agony as Babidi fights for control of his body.

Kaioshin tells Vegeta, “Babidi is attempting to use the evil in your heart! That’s right! Madoshi Babidi can manipulate the evil-hearted at will!”

He advises Vegeta, “Vegeta-san, empty your mind! You must not think of anything!”

Perhaps if Vegeta could, at that moment, empty his mind and become peaceful, there would be nothing for Babidi to latch onto. No attachments. No gaps.

Babidi gleefully continues, “All right, while we’re at it, let’s also draw out his hidden power, beyond his limits!”

Vegeta floats into the air, screams in anguish, and red lightning bolts arc throughout the room. The power of his energy causes a small earthquake in the surrounding cliffs around the ship.

Goku shouts, “What a Ki! I can’t get near it!”

The light recedes. Vegeta falls to the floor, crashing to his knees.

A moment of pause.

Vegeta slowly rises, with a Majin M on his forehead and a wicked grin on his face.

Majin Vegeta

Babidi successfully possessed Vegeta.

He chants an incantation, “Papparapa!” and they are transported to a new battleground: the Tenkaichi Budokai stage. Babidi and Dabura want Vegeta to fight against Goku and Gohan so that they can collect the dispersed energy from their battle and use it to awaken Majin Buu from his slumber.

Babidi tries to control Vegeta, telling him to battle and “even kill the others, if you like.”

“Silence!” Vegeta shouts. “My only objective is Kakkarot! I don’t care about anyone else!”

Babidi is in shock. “What a guy! He still isn’t completely under my control. This is a first.”

After calling Goku out in a challenge, Vegeta fires a Ki blast directly into Goku’s face, which Goku blocks, but he cannot redirect the beam. It flies into the crowd, killing over a hundred people immediately. Then the beam flies through the arena wall, burning through the city for more than a mile, finally erupting in a giant mushroom cloud.

Total death count? According to Babidi, 200 people.

Goku realizes what’s going on. “Vegeta! Don’t tell me you fell under Babidi’s spell on purpose. … Answer me, Vegeta!!”

Vegeta fires another blast into the stadium, killing dozens more. He then grimaces at Goku like a psychopathic madman.

Goku fills himself with rage and transforms into a Super Saiyan.

Goku says, “Vegeta. You let yourself fall under Babidi’s spell and lost your self-control, and did all this in order to get me serious? Am I wrong?”

Vegeta replies, “If I hadn’t done all this, you wouldn’t have fought me! In only one day, you’ll disappear from this world. And yet all this gets in the way!”

Kaioshin rebukes him, “So for that… just for that, you’ve done this foolish thing?”

Vegeta is insulted and shocked. “Foolish thing?! FOOLISH THING, YOU SAY?!!”

He powers up, sending dust everywhere.

“This is everything to me! It does not matter to me what happens with Majin Buu or anything else!”

Pointing at Goku, “He… He surpassed my strength! He is a Saiyan, same as me, yet he outpaced me! Me! The Prince, at the height of his overwhelming power! I… I’ve even had my life saved by him! I cannot forgive him for that! Absolutely not!!”

At the request of Goku they are transported by Babidi to a desert battleground away from civilians. Babidi tries to control Vegeta again, ordering him to kill everyone.

Vegeta’s mind is split in two and he writhes in pain. “Do it! Do them in!” The Majin symbol on his forehead pulses with red light.

“I refuse!”

Babidi orders him to do it once more, and Vegeta’s body spasms in pain.

Vegeta speaks to Babidi, “Like I said, all I want to do is fight Kakkarot. I… I am the proud Prince of the Saiyans! You think I would allow myself to become your serf?! You may control my body and my heart, but at least you will not have your way… with my PRIDE!!”

Vegeta screams in anger, powering up, sending a huge golden aura out of his body, while lines of white serpentine energy course out of him. Mountains collapse as the earth quakes.

Kaioshin is in shock, “Unbelievable! To think there’s a person that could defy Babidi while being controlled by him!”

Goku, almost in disgust, says, “So this is how badly you wanted to settle things between us, Vegeta?”

“I’ve waited. I’ve waited so long, Kakkarot!”

The Pride of a Man

In this scenario we see the extent to which Vegeta would go in order to enact revenge against Goku. He would even allow a foreign being to take control of his body and heart in exchange for more power.

Why? For a chance to feel complete once again. And a chance to restore his pride.

Vegeta explains in the following episodes that he willingly let Babidi possess him so that he could remember the feeling of only caring for himself… the simple freedom and joy that this brings. The satisfaction of being a ruthless, cold hearted warrior, and of being the best.

He had tried Goku’s way… the way of kindness and family. The way of protecting others.

But what did it get him?

In Vegeta’s mind it only brought comfort and weakness. Sentimental rubbish! An unfitting way of life for a warrior!

Most importantly, it did not increase his power and it did not satisfy his ultimate desire.

When Vegeta had the opportunity to let this all go and return to his former self, he took it.

After an intense and exhausting battle, the two warriors were evenly matched.

During a moment when Goku offered his kindness, Vegeta attacked with a sneaky blow from behind, knocking Goku unconscious.

Vegeta betrayed Goku’s trust and won the fight.

But shortly afterward he lost his life against the recently awakened Majin Buu… in the ultimate self sacrifice.

He also lost his soul, and was sent to Hell.

Vegeta’s spirit possession resulted in short term satisfaction from a battle with Goku, and the long term death of millions.

Was it worth the cost?

In Vegeta’s eyes, it was. Satisfying his pride is all that mattered.

Such is the price this man paid to achieve his desire.

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Spirit Possession in Dragon Ball

Derek Padula at the Shaolin Summit 2011

I attended the 1st Shaolin Summit as a reporter for The Epoch Times Newspaper and interviewed the Head Abbot of the Shaolin Temple, Shi Yongxin.

As a practitioner of Shaolin Gong Fu for over 12 years, and a student of East Asian studies, I thought it would be a lot of fun to go there, learn some new things and meet some good people.

The result was mixed.

The summit took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on May 21. The day was a combination of Shaolin culture and business motives, indirectly fueled by the Chinese Communist Party’s religious affairs and tourism departments, as well as American martial artists and businessmen who admire Shaolin martial arts.

Aside from the standard Shaolin Gong Fu demo’s, there were also two panel discussions.

The first was called “Zen, the Power of the Mind and Martial Arts.”

The panel was moderated by Jonathan Blank and guests included Mark Dacascos (actor and host of Iron Chef), Lucia Rijker (world champion kick boxer), Shi Yanfan (a Caucasian Shaolin monk and head of the Shaolin Temple Los Angeles), Gene Ching (Associate Publisher of Kung Fu Tai Chi Magazine), and Dr. David Rapkin (Director of the Mind-Body Medicine Group at UCLA). They talked about the importance of proper breathing and mind-intent, and how they can heal the body or lead to different outcomes in life.

The second panel included the Head Abbot and 5 master Shaolin monks. The monks talked about traditional Chinese medicine, proper breathing techniques, Shaolin culture, and what it means to be enlightened and live properly.

These were the most interesting parts of the day for me, even though they were fairly shallow. However, it’s understandable, given that the casual guest to the summit might not be an expert in these fields. Still, it would have been nice to hear a discussion with more substance.

Underlying the entire event however, was business and finance.

You can read the details in my Epoch Times article on the CEO Monk, Shi Yongxin.

Culture or Commercialism?

Abbot Shi Yongxin - Photo by Deborah Yun (www.deborahyun.com)

In short, the Shaolin Temple has become a monetized external shell of its former self. The current abbot has commercialized the temple and transformed it into a den of tourism and profit seeking financiers.

I traveled to the Shaolin Temple in 2003 while studying abroad in China. I was heartbroken to see such a stark contrast between the Shaolin Temple I read about in books and the reality that lay before me. The true cultivators of that temple were gone.

Unfortunately it has only become worse with the passage of time. The head of the United Studios of Self Defense, the largest branch of martial arts schools in the country, told me so while at the summit. He visits the temple with his students on a semi-yearly basis.

It saddens me to say this, but the Shaolin Temple and the martial arts I loved have been corrupted at the source.

The Cultural Revolution of the 1960′s and 70′s caused irreparable damage to not only the temple walls, but more importantly, the Shaolin culture. The true monks fled the temple so that they would not be polluted by Communism and politics, and those who stayed were the younger monks that are now the older generation. The higher level teachings were lost.

The head abbot that replaced the former is so focused on profiting from the interest in Shaolin that he is blind to this important principle: No matter how much he rebuilds the walls or adds new gymnasiums to support the influx of fresh students, he can never buy back the true Shaolin spirit!

The traditional teachings and the current reality could not be any further apart then they are right now.

My hope is that the CCP affiliated abbot that they have installed at the head of the temple is replaced by a genuine cultivator that can restore the reputation of Shaolin. They need to return to the true teachings.

You can see here a powerful comparison between Shi Yongxin and the monk’s of the Dabei Temple. The Dabei monks are another Buddhist sect in China. But they have chosen to follow their traditional ways of life, while the Shaolin have become business oriented.

What do you think of this issue? It’s by no means simple, and I can understand the perspective of both sides. Without proliferation of the art, then perhaps less people would be aware of it or have a chance to practice. On the other hand, what exactly is it they are buying into? In the end, where it will lead them?

When it comes down to it I have to take sides with being genuine and true, because no amount of money can buy you the truth.

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Shaolin Summit 2011

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Suffering Succotash

Super Saiyan Goku

In this excerpt from The Dao of Dragon Ball we will learn more about the martial arts as depicted in Dragon Ball.

There are many concepts that are disclosed in this chapter, such as Qi (Ki), Gong, Divine Powers, and how the popular conception of Qi in the martial arts were employed by Akira Toriyama and mixed with traditional Buddhist and Daoist spiritual views.

This particular section of the Divine Combat chapter explains the concept of Zenkai Power, and what it means both within Dragon Ball and traditional cultivation practices of East Asia.

Zenkai Power

Goku Fires the Kamehameha

Zenkai is a term used by fans to refer to the sudden power up that occurs to a Saiyan after they recover from a near death experience. Saiyans are the only ones with the genetic potential for Zenkai, but anyone with Saiyan cells in their body is able to experience a Zenkai.

The Dragon World is one in which fighting and martial arts are the primary form of cultivation recognized and supported by the gods.

The Saiyans are primed for development in the Closed Fist style of cultivation. They learn by fighting and mature through physical conflict. They do not study a set of teachings, nor do they specifically try to improve their character through looking inward and letting go of attachments. They increase their power as they train with intensity and fight against increasingly difficult external opponents. Yet they sometimes experience mortal blows; the type that would kill a normal man. Upon recovering from these grievous wounds the Saiyan is instilled with even more power, so that they can then defeat their opponent the next time they do battle. It is an accelerated form of evolutionary adaptation, and a large part of what makes them such formidable opponents.

Dragon Ball fans translated Zenkai as “Complete Recovery.” But this translation is incorrect, and there are further meanings to this term within Asian culture, Buddhism and the martial arts.

Ancient legends about the history of acupuncture state that it was discovered in India by warriors on the battlefield. The wounds and aches they experienced before or during the battle were remedied by the accidental puncture of certain spots on their body. After the battle was complete their original ailments were gone, although they may have had new problems to deal with. From the revelation that adjustments in one part of the body can affect another came the physical science of massage, acupuncture, bone adjustments, tendon manipulation, and energy theories. Combined with Indian Ayurvedic (“Longevity Science”) principles and passed along to China these theories and teachings (that are rooted in the Five Elements) became the ground work for Shaolin School and Dao School internal energy treatments and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

In a medical practice the manipulation of passes and acupuncture points would be a gradual process of opening and flushing out stagnant Chi. Martial arts focused stories have to be more viscerally entertaining. In these stories the practitioner gains new powers when someone else suddenly strikes an acupuncture point and unwittingly unlocks the energy from within. Presuming they survive.

In Dragon Ball this concept is taken to an extreme. With each successive near death experience another portion of the previously untapped energy becomes accessible. After they have recovered from their wounds the energy bursts forth in a wave of incredible might in their next battle.

Vegeta first discovered this ability after his defeat against Goku. He fought Goku with a battle power of 18,000, returned home, recovered from his wounds, and shot up to approximately 24,000 for his battle on Planet Namek. He powered up again after his defeat by Zarbon and once again by Recoome. Vegeta then purposefully manipulated this ability in order to have enough power to defeat Lord Freeza. He ordered Krillin to blast a hole through his body with an energy beam so that he could be healed by Dende, a Namek healer, and receive yet another boost.

Goku had experienced this transformation process throughout his life, as at the end of each near death defeat he would recover and become stronger than he was before; although this was also due to training and further insights gained by experience. Goku used this inborn ability while training in the Space Capsule on his way to Planet Namek. He physically pushed himself to the point of breaking and then ate a Senzu bean and completely recovered. He repeated this cycle twice. Once he completed his training and arrived on Namek he had unlocked many profound supernormal abilities, including the ability to read other people’s minds and scan a person’s history through post-cognition.

Bardock - Father of Goku

As mentioned earlier, it is also possible that a strike to an acupuncture point could be used to unlock a dormant supernormal ability. This occurred to Goku’s true father, Bardock, while he fought on Planet Kanassa.

A Kanassan warrior purposefully finger strikes Bardock in the acupuncture point at the base of the skull where the spinal column meets the head, in the back of the neck. Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to this acupuncture point as Governing Vessel 15, (Chinese: ??, Ya Men). Ya Men translates as “Mute Gate” and is associated with the occipital lobe and visual cortex. Deep penetration of this area is usually prohibited in medical practice. The intense martial strike unlocked Bardock’s supernormal ability of pre-cognition.

A Kanassan Warrior

The Kanassan’s were renowned for their psychic abilities, and the warriors final words were, “I have given it to you as a gift, Bardock, so that you can see.” Bardock replies, “See what?” “See the horror of your end, just as we had to.” Through his pre-cognitive visions Bardock was shown the genocide of the Saiyan people and images of his own demise. In a confused and altered state he was also able to see the future of his son Kakarot’s rise to power and eventual conflict with Lord Freeza.

In an attempt to rewrite the future Bardock single handedly opposed Lord Freeza and his men. He attempted to explain to his Saiyan brothers of their impending doom, but they would not listen. Meanwhile, his son had just been launched into outer space. With the thoughts of his own people on his mind, he fought against Freeza. But at the final moment of his death he realized that his visions were all too true, including the path of redemption he just chose to follow. Even his attempt to change the future was pre-written.

The Kanassan warrior’s method of imparting the truth to Bardock was not through words, because he knew that words would not be accepted by such a person. Instead he unlocked his mind through a silent strike to the Mute Gate. The prophetic visions taught Bardock the ramifications of cause and effect, and that one’s life is already written. These visions shook him to the core, but at the moment of his death brought him peace, for he saw the balancing of debts enacted through his own son.

Truly, when a practitioner lives the present moment of their own future it can hit their heart like a dagger in the mind. They awaken to a reality they never knew. It brings both shock and calm, and the revelation that it is okay to let go, for we are not in control.

Fire Through a Pass

Vegeta's Energy Erupts

The common literal translation of the word Zen Kai (Japanese: ??, Chinese: Chuan Guan) is “Complete Open,” with looser translations meaning, “Perfectly Opened,” “Full Throttle,” and more-or-less, “To the Limit.” But this common translation ignores the cultural heritage of the Chinese characters.

The etymology of the Zen (?) ideogram shows the character for “earth” (?) with the character for “one” or “finger” (?) connected above it. Together this character represents a “king,” or more literally a person with their “finger above the earth.” Above this combined character is the character for [a man] “enters” or “receives” (?). Altogether Zen can mean “The one who receives and resides over the earth.”

Kai (?) displays a “fire that can be handled” (?) passing through a “gate” or “pass” (?). Zen Kai thus means “a fire that moves through a pass.”

Vegeta Unlocks His Potential

When the term is used in Zen (?) Buddhism it refers to the concept of enlightenment: The complete opening of one’s mind to wisdom. Zen Buddhism is a wordless practice and is often associated with the martial arts because of the Closed Fist teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni. In this sense Zen Kai (??) refers to a wordless opening derived through experiential practice via the path of the fist. Because Zen focuses on Sudden Enlightenment this further implies that the Zen Kai will occur suddenly and be gained without studying words. It is a wordless form of opening the gates. The gates are not opened through a cerebral key. They are opened through a physical key.

The Dao School considers the human body to be a small universe, with many important energy channels and points, which they refer to as “apertures.” The human body has many layers. The layer we can see with our flesh eyes is composed of cells, and these cells are composed of molecules and further composed of atoms. Each is a layer of dimension. Teacher Li Hongzhi of the Falun Dafa practice says in Zhuan Falun (1999) that “There is a gate placed at each layer of atoms, protons, electrons, the very microscopic particles, the infinitesimal microscopic particles, and from the infinitely microscopic particles down to the extremely infinite microscopic particles. Therefore, there are numerous supernormal abilities and many special capabilities locked up inside the gates of different layers.”

When a practitioner is about to attain enlightenment at their cultivated level, the energy they have developed will suddenly arise. The gates at each level will open up with a bang, from the smallest to the largest, and the energy will flow through. All of the supernormal abilities will be unlocked and what they have developed will come to fruition.

At the moment of enlightenment the energy in the microcosm will appear to surge through the layers of the body like a rising fire. Contrarily it can also be likened to waves of pressurized water flowing through flood gates at a rapid pace. Beginning at the utmost microcosm of the practitioner’s fundamental being the energy will begin to rise, from the smallest particles to the largest, each particle will be tapped into and the energy inside will add more fuel to the fire. The energy will pass through the gates and reach the surface where it will explode outward in all directions like the radiating light of a star or a raging fireball.

Tibetan Vajrapani Aura

Artwork that depicts the gods will often show their central figure surrounded by light, flames, or a heavenly aura. Western art and literature refers to this as a nimbus. The character will be larger than life and surrounded by this fully realized energy. They will stand or sit inside a circle, a door or gate, amidst a courtyard of their paradise or a heavenly scene, amidst all of the people within their paradise or heavenly kingdom.

Qi Gong teachings state that everyday people have a feint electrical circuit and a small aura, but that it is weak. A practitioner’s aura is strong and refined, and its color represents the practitioner’s level at different dimensions. Some are red, yellow, orange, green, blue, gold, purple, white, colored, or even colorless. The stronger a practitioner’s energy, the greater the influence of an aura and the wider its area of effect. A righteous practice will be aligned with the characteristics of the universe and a practitioner of a righteous way will bring an honest, kind and patient energy with them wherever they go. An evil practice aligned with an inverse of universal characteristics will likewise bring with it such energy.

There is also the concept of Genkai (Japanese: ??). Genkai means a “limit.” And to “break the limit” means to go beyond ones current restraints. The first character gen (?) implies a limit, while the second character kai (?) shows a field, and often means “boundary”, “domain” or “world.” Together, Genkai refers to a limit within a particular field. A field means a constraint of time and space. In cultivation a practitioner attempts to continually break their own limits. Once that constraint of time and space has been broken the practitioner will enter a new field. They then go even further beyond what was previously considered further beyond.

Vegeta Unleashes his Full Power

With great effort a practitioner of martial arts cultivation or internal cultivation can bring the energy (so far attained) up to the surface during their cultivation process. They can temporarily open the gates and summon the energy from their bodies in every dimension at every level (molecular, atomic, sub-atomic, all the way down and all the way up). The energy will reach the surface of this body and surround them with a material substance that radiates light. Internal practices such as Aikido or TaiJi use this field of energy to sense the subtle movements of opponents within their field, or to attack and defend with supernormal abilities unseen by the naked eye.

In Dragon Ball the aura’s of the characters flare like fireballs that cycle according to the internal frequency of the rotating energy within the practitioner’s channels. There are layers of aura within the layers, and each moves according to its own frequency. Their fiery visage appears exactly like the Vajrapani Warrior Guardians of the Buddha, surrounded by flaming aura’s who wield the Vajra lightning bolts and fight using divine martial arts.

Post from: The Dao of Dragonball Blog

Divine Combat – Zenkai Power

The Potara Earring in Dragon Ball Z

The Potara earrings are a device in Dragon Ball Z introduced near the end of the Majin Buu Saga. They allow one character to fuse together with another and increase their power level dramatically.

Everybody knows and loves them. But is there more to these simple earrings than meets the eye?

When all hope seems lost, Goku is given a Potara earring by Eldar Kai (Japanese: Rou Dai Kaioshin) that allows him to fuse with another person. They look like spherical ball earrings suspended by silver beads attached to a hoop that is placed in the earlobe.

Goku and Vegeta Fuse Together

Goku convinces Vegeta to wear one of the earrings while Goku wears the other. Immediately they are drawn to one another and their two bodies slam together, creating a new superhuman warrior.

The pair combined has the best of Vegeta’s pride and Goku’s rage, creating Vegetto, self-named after the combination of Vegeta and Kakarotto (Goku’s birth given Saiyan name).

According to Kanzentai.com, in The Super Exciting Guide: Story Volume, “On p.63 it describes the Potara fusion as being closer to multiplication rather than simple addition in the way it increases power. Supposedly, Vegetto’s battle power is equivalent to Goku’s battle power multiplied by Vegeta’s. Also according to the introduction of the Super Exciting Guide’s training section, all the information in it is based on data that was supervised by Toriyama, though we have no idea how extensive this supervision was.”

This makes Vegetto the strongest character in the entire manga.

But where did Akira Toriyama come up with the idea of Potara? What’s the story behind them?

Toriyama’s Explanation

Eldar Kai Hands Goku the Potara

In Daizenshuu 6: Movies & TV Specials guide (December 9, 1995), Toriyama is asked about the Potara in an interview.

Interviewer: “Fusion” is another way to power up, right? How was that concept born?

Toriyama: That, I think, as a concept, came out of a discussion with Katsura-kun [Masakazu Katsura, a manga creator] that ‘There is nothing stronger than Super Saiya-jin.’ We usually just fool around with each other, and he jokingly said at the time, ‘In that case, maybe the only remaining way to become stronger is to fuse together.’ I replied, ‘Hey, that’s a great idea! You do say good things sometimes. This is the first time you’ve helped me.’ (laughter) That’s how that idea was born.

The interviewer then asks him how he came up with the concept of Potara.

Toriyama: Well, that was just because fusion was being used up in the movies, and I was thinking, ‘What should I do?’ Since I had been drawing earrings, I wondered, ‘Can I use these somehow?’

Interviewer: So, you didn’t draw the earrings as a way to fuse together from the beginning?

Toriyama: Nope. They were initially just decorations.

Interviewer: Then it was a product of the circumstances.

Toriyama: I’ve long been walking such dangerous fine lines (laughter). However, when I’m cornered, my brain waves seem to sharpen, and somehow ideas start to flow. In addition, I’m good at forceful finagling (laughter).

And that’s all Toriyama is recorded as saying about the Potara’s origins. So he was drawing earring designs and decided to use them in Dragon Ball. Perhaps it was as simple as that. Many of Toriyama’s explanations for things are surprisingly simple.

But where did the word Potara come from? Toriyama does not mention this specifically.

My theory is that Potara actually has a cultural and historical origin.

Potala Palace of Tibet

Potala Palace of Lhasa, Tibet

The most likely source of the word Potara in Dragon Ball stems from the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.

The now 13-story high Potala Palace in Lhasa was founded in 1645 AD. It served as the previous residence of many Dalai Lamas throughout history. It is the political seat of the Tibetan Government and house of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, also known as the “Yellow Hats.” The Gelug is the most politically powerful and well known of Tibetan Buddhist practices, and the Potala served as a Winter Palace for the Dalai Lama of that generation. In 1959 the Dalai Lama was forced to retreat from Tibet in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s assault. It has since been turned into a museum.

The Japanese refer to Potala as Potara. This is because in Japanese the R’s and L’s are often pronounced as opposites or both simultaneously, as a sort of R, L and D sound altogether. Other examples of this reversal in Dragon Ball include Shen Ron (instead of the Chinese Shen Long) and Porunga (instead of Polunga), the Divine Dragons that come out of the dragon balls.

Furthermore, the earrings designed by Toriyama are similar to a traditional Tibetan drop earring, which have a spherical shape embedded in a cap.

More than a Name – Dual Cultivation

A Male Tibetan Deity Holds a Female Consort

But there’s more to this theory than just a single name.

Tibetan Buddhism is an esoteric (secret) practice of Buddhism that is taught behind closed doors. It involves many ritualistic experiences of the Tantric order. One of these is known as “dual cultivation of male and female.”

This is a practice of dual cultivation, meaning that more than one person’s body is used to refine a practitioner. It is a Tantric act where two bodies become one. The male partner will hold the female in physical union. The female partner chosen is one of utmost purity, and the entire act is overseen by a master monk to ensure that the two are able to maintain their virtue and follow the ritual accordingly.

The union brings together the highest qualities of each practitioner and sends the pair into a higher state of awareness. Their enlightenment to higher states allows both of them to reach a plane of ultimate bliss.

The artistic representations of these acts are often seen in Tibetan Thangkas (Scroll paintings). They depict different male gods in physical union with female consorts. They are paintings of dual cultivation that are symbolic of the duality of the Tibetan Dharma.

The male wraps the female with his arms and holds the Bell (Female aspect) in the left hand and the Dorje (aka Vajra) (Male aspect) in the right hand. The two elements together balance the positive and negative and bring one to enlightenment. The two people essentially become one person, and with more ‘power’ than the original, as they can enter a higher level of Heaven. It is considered a sacred practice and one is that not disclosed to a lay practitioner.

Tibetan Earrings That Look Like Potara

From a Daoist perspective they would say this type of practice is one where “The Yin supplements the Yang, and the Yang supplements the Yin.”

In Dragon Ball Z anime episode 268, Goku places the earring on his left ear and Vegeta places the earring on his right. The two beings are forcefully drawn toward one another. When their bodies make contact a huge explosion of light and energy erupts from that point. Their bodies and minds fuse together and form a new being with a higher state of awareness and incalculable power that is even stronger than the gods.

At this point they are neither Goku nor Vegeta. With the voice of two beings united as one he says, “I wondered what was going to happen, but it appears as if they successfully combined together. Now then, let’s continue!”

Potaraka Island and Guan Yin

Bodhisattva Guan Yin

It is also possible that Toriyama referenced Journey to the West for this name, as the book serves as the literary wellspring from which Dragon Ball came forth. This is because in Journey to the West there is a mystical location known as Potaraka Island.

In Chapter 22 of Journey to the West, Monkey, Pig and the Tang Monk Sanzang experience difficulty in capturing the Sand Demon who guards the sandy river. Despite their best efforts at defeating the monster they still need to ask for help from Bodhisattva Guan Yin (the Buddhist Saint of Compassion).

“‘If you’re going to ask the Bodhisattva to come,’ Sanzang said, ‘don’t waste a moment, and be back as quickly as possible.’

“Monkey then somersaulted off on his cloud towards the Southern Sea, and before an hour was up he saw Potaraka Island. An instant later he landed outside the Purple Bamboo Grove, where the twenty-four devas came forward to greet him with the words, ‘Why have you come, Great Sage?’

“‘Because my master is in trouble,’ Monkey replied, ‘I have come for an audience with the Bodhisattva.’ The deva on duty that day asked Monkey to sit down while he went in to report, whereupon he went into the Tide Cave to announce that Sun Wukong was seeking an audience on business. The Bodhisattva was leaning on a balcony looking at the blossoms in the Precious Lotus Pool with the Dragon Princess Peng Zhu when she heard the news. She went back in her cloudy majesty, opening the door and summoning Monkey to her presence. The Great Sage greeted her with grave reverence.”

Jade Earrings Modeled After Potara Used for Cosplay

Outside of Journey to the West, there is a “Little Potala Palace” (Chinese: Putuo Zongchengzhi Si) in Chengde City, China, that was constructed in 1771 of the Qing Dynasty. As the largest temple of the Eight Outer Temples, the Little Potala Palace was constructed to commemorate Emperor Qianlong’s birthday. It emulates the original Potala Palace’s design.

The Little Potala Palace is also known as the Temple of the Potaraka Doctrine, as it is a Mayahana Buddhist School that studies the Fa of Bodhisattva Guan Yin.

So there is a temple in Tibet and a temple in China. But no temple in Japan named Potala. This means Toriyama most likely borrowed the word from somewhere else.

Also noteworthy is that there is a Potara in India. The Potara Kund is located in the city of Mathura in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Kund is the Hindi word for “tiny lake.” Potara Kund is a stepped red sandstone artificial water tank in which Krishna’s baby clothes were believed to be washed. Krishna is the highest level deity worshipped in India, and the Potara Kund is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana and also the Bhagavad Gita, a Vedic tale of war and theology that recounts Krishna’s childhood.

So it’s equally possible that Toriyama found this word while researching the Vedic texts.

Conclusion

It’s unknown where Toriyama came up with the word Potara. But it is probably from one of the above named sources. The concept of dual cultivation and unification is also intriguing.

Maybe Toriyama will state the source of his inspiration one day.

In either case, now you know a little bit more about the Potara earrings.

Resources:

• http://blog.t2world.com/2009/06/potala-palace.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna
• http://www.chengdetour.com/chengde-attractions/templeofpotarakadoctrine.htm
• http://www.kanzentai.com/bp.php?id=guide
• http://monkeyking.lewisoft.net/MKW/en/journeytothewest_22.php
• http://www.tamashop.com/DragonballKaioshinPotaraEarrings.htm
• http://talesofwisdom.com/2009/07/09/an-allegory-of-cultivation-a-stubborn-water-bottle-2/
• http://www.toranahouse.com/BJthangkacat1.html

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Potara, Potala, Potaraka